1. Field of the Invention
The present description relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a deposition mask assembly for a flat panel display.
2. Description of the Related Art
A flat panel display has characteristics such as light weight and slimness, and examples thereof include a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display. The OLED display has excellent luminescence and viewing angle characteristics as compared to the LCD and does not require a backlight, thus being implemented in an ultra-thin type.
The OLED display is a display device using a phenomenon that electrons injected from a cathode and holes injected from an anode are recombined in an organic thin film to form an exciton and light having a predetermined wavelength is generated by energy from the formed exciton.
The OLED display adopts a photolithography method or a deposition method using a deposition mask assembly in which a pattern including a plurality of slits is formed in order to selectively form the cathode, the anode, the organic thin film, and the like on a substrate formed of glass, stainless steel, or synthetic resin.
In the photolithography method, after a photoresist is applied on some regions, moisture may inflow in the course of stripping and etching the photoresist by a wet etching or dry etching method. On the other hand, the deposition method using the deposition mask assembly is used to a material that may deteriorate by moisture like the organic thin film.
Some organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays including R (red), G (green), and B (blue) organic emission layers are formed in order to display full-colors. Patterns of the R, G, and B organic emission layers are formed on a substrate by aligning a mask pattern on which a plurality of openings is formed on the substrate and providing a deposition material through an opening of the mask pattern.
For the deposition method, in a deposition mask assembly, a support fixture is installed to cross an opening of a frame mask, and the divided pattern masks are welded to the support fixture in order to prevent movement of the divided pattern masks on the support fixture.
The support fixture is fixed to both ends of the opening of the frame mask. Therefore, distortion of the pattern which may occur in the pattern mask while welding is performed. That is, a welding quality of the pattern mask may deteriorate.
The above information disclosed herein is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the described technology and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in the field to a person having ordinary skill in the art.